Ethnic cleansing in Masafer Yatta: a focus on Susiya

Susiya, Masafer Yatta
  

In 1986, Israeli Occupation Forces expropriated the land of the Palestinian village of Susiya and expelled the Palestinian residents under the pretext of archaeological remnants of a synagogue, and handed it over to the residents of the illegal Zionist settlement established 3 years previously (the settlement is named “Susya”). 

In the remaining lands of Susiya that Palestinians are allowed on, and still have papers for, occupation forces have destroyed cisterns, caves and housing structures and denied building permits despite Israeli colonial courts’ recognition of the lands as Palestinian. As with 60% of the West Bank that is designated as “Area C” — i.e. under Israeli control — building permits are under the authority of the Israeli Civil Administration. While settlements expand and are constructed at an exponential rate, almost all building requests for Palestinians are denied. 

Since 2010, multiple petitions have been submitted to Israel’s Supreme Court on behalf of the village residents regarding restricted access to their lands, violence against them, lack of law enforcement against violent settlers, and settler invasions into their lands – resulting in the Israeli army’s Central Command issuing a closed military zone order that forbids settlers from entering agricultural areas between Susya village and the settlement. This order has been renewed annually. 

Since the escalation of Israel’s genocide in Gaza, Palestinian residents have been almost entirely denied access to their agricultural lands, including just a few meters from their houses and even in areas designated as closed military zones for settlers. Consequently, villagers have lost two olive harvest seasons and two plowing seasons, resulting in severe loss of crops and livelihood. Instead of grazing their livestock on natural pastures, they have had to feed them with fodder, incurring substantial financial burdens.

Initially characterized by sporadic incidents of harassment, and isolated attacks on agricultural lands at the start of the genocide, these incidents have intensified into daily occurrences involving pogrom-like violence: organized and concerted attacks by settler militias. These have escalated even further since the (now collapsed) “ceasefire” of January 2025. (Remembering Dr. Refaat Alareer’s words here: “Ceasefire? What usually happens in occupied Palestine is that Palestinians cease, and Israel fires.”) 

Invasions by settlers into agricultural lands have increased in frequency and expanded: settlers regularly bring their livestock onto cultivated Palestinian lands. This report details several incidents of settler violence against Palestinian residents in Susiya in recent weeks, but is incomplete and also does not cover the incidents of settlers trespassing onto Palestinian lands with their livestock – which they use as a form of intimidation, provocation, threat and an assertion of their domination. Repeated complaints by residents to both police and military authorities – including formal complaints with detailed documentation – have gone unanswered. Even when offenses were extensively documented with identifying details and photos of perpetrators, and with maps that clearly show the demarcations of the military orders showing boundaries where settlers are not allowed, no action is taken. State inaction regarding settler violence emboldens settlers to expand their activities from agricultural lands into the village itself, and to escalate their violence against residents. Since the beginning of this year alone, over 100 incidents involving grazing violations, harassment, and attacks by settlers have been documented, and threats and physical assaults – including shoving, beatings, stone-throwing at people, homes, vehicles, and even arson – have become routine occurrences. 

In the context of the petition regarding the expulsion of residents, the state argued that it was acting to enforce law and public order in the villages, and this argument was accepted by the court. However, the court found it necessary to reiterate and emphasize that military and police authorities are obligated to protect the residents of the area from violence or violations of the law. The court further noted in its ruling on July 29, 2024:

“The picture painted by the petitioners’ claims is troubling, to say the least. In fact, even from the respondents’ claims, it can be understood that the response provided is incomplete, even if they believe they have done their utmost. It is worth reiterating that the petitioners are protected residents entitled to receive an adequate response from the authorities in the area, especially concerning repeated acts of violence against them. Accordingly, it is incumbent upon law enforcement agencies in the area to ensure the safety of the petitioners and maintain public order in the region, even under the complex circumstances of this period and its limitations. We believe that this ruling serves to clarify and emphasize these points.”

Despite this assertion from the Israeli court, police and military authorities not only fail to protect Palestinian residents; not only do they embolden and effectively encourage settler violence; they also actively contribute to it. On March 28th, after a settler militia stormed the village of Jinba, and after the military had already arrested 22 Palestinians who were attacked by settlers, soldiers came back later and, under the pretense of searching for weapons, raided and destroyed the village, finishing the settlers’ job for them. On March 30th, the army arrested several Palestinians at gunpoint in the village of Susiya


 On the morning of March 17th in Susiya, Ahmad, a Palestinian farmer, went out with his flock to graze in the pastures behind his home. It was 6.30 a.m. and he was accompanied by two activists with International Solidarity Movement.
  

At 6.45 a.m., Ahmad noticed three masked settlers appear at the top of the hill that is bordering the nearby settlement. At least one of the three was clearly carrying a stick, and two of the three quickly descended on the valley, and began to hurl huge rocks at the families. The two were soon joined by seven more settlers – all of them masked, and slinging enormous rocks across the valley, at the Palestinian farmers who had been out with their sheep, and their families, including young children who were dressed in the school uniforms, and who were now being made late for school. 

These nine settlers continued their attack: running up to the families, throwing rocks, running back and coming back again, each time getting closer and closer to the homes of the Palestinians. They continued to throw enormous rocks at the Palestinians and the handful of international volunteers responding to the scene, many of them narrowly missing heads, necks and legs. In the attack by the settlers, they injured 2 Palestinians – an older woman was hit by a stone in the eye, and left with a bruise, and settlers hit an elderly man in the foot. 

The Israeli police had been called: upon their arrival, the masked settlers quickly fled back into the valley. In all this time, only notorious settler Shem Tov had remained unmasked.

He immediately rushed over to the police car, and coordinated with them to plan the arrest of Nasser, one of the Palestinians who was being stoned by settlers. This collusion of occupation forces – police and settlers – allowed the masked settlers to run away, back through the valley and up the hill to the illegal settlement. The police kept Nasser detained in the vehicle, while his children stood crying in front of the police van, anxiously asking for their father’s release. Shem Tov sat in the front seat of the vehicle, and when he left, made kissing noises and winked at the young girls in their school uniforms. Shem Tov sexually harassing Palestinians is well-documented.
  

On February 26th, Ahmad was attacked while he was out shepherding on his land. Sometime between 11 am and noon, he was beaten by 5-6 settlers who beat his legs, his back and his face, for which he needed to seek treatment in the hospital.
  

On March 2nd, right in the middle of Iftar – when families gather together to break the day’s fast after sundown – at around 6.15 p.m., settlers tried to break into two homes in the village of Susiya – they broke windows and threw stones, at the families and at 2 responding activists. The settlers left and soon horrible screams were heard from the direction of Ahmad’s house. Masked and armed, the settlers had descended on Ahmad’s family, including his wife and two young girls, and thrown stones at them and their neighbors. When the police eventually arrived, they responded with their typical feigned incompetence – taking evidentiary photos while claiming there was not enough evidence to work with. Neither the physical injuries nor the property damage qualified, and the Palestinians’ complaints were dismissed. With masked settlers and police that are more than willing to allow them to run away, again, the occupation forces were able to work in tandem (settler violence, and police feigned and weaponized incompetence) to threaten the Palestinians with displacement from lands they have stewarded for generations. 

Compounded upon the escalation of attacks by settlers (many of whom are armed and deploy weapons upon the Palestinians they are trying to intimidate and harass), are attacks by “settler soldier” militias, since October 7th and the escalation of Israeli genocide of Palestinians. These reservists, who have been drafted since the beginning of the genocide, Settlers don soldier uniforms and enjoy even more impunity than previously; it has become increasingly more difficult to distinguish between settler and soldier. Both enact the violence of the occupation in their own way, but the merging of the occupation forces since October 7th has brought on another level for these Palestinian families.
  

As I was beginning to write this report on the afternoon March 19th, a group of masked and armed settlers brought their herd of cows to graze on Nasser’s land in Susiya; the irony of abandoning writing this report to stand in solidarity with Susiya residents to confront, for the umpteenth time, yet another instance of harassment and violence by the settler, cannot be lost on anyone. 

Another major attack on Susiya where residents were beaten and 3 Palestinian men were arrested and held overnight in a military base, also made headlines around the world: Hamdan Ballal, co-director of Oscar-winning documentary No Other Land that shows exactly this type of violence in Masafer Yatta, was attacked by violent settlers on the evening of March 25th. Around the time of Iftar, when families were sitting down to break the daylong Ramadan fast, settlers arrived to Palestinian homes in Susiya and were throwing rocks, in the presence of Israeli police and army who looked on, doing nothing to stop them. Shem Tov, accompanied by soldiers, attacked Ballal, kicking him in the head and beating him violently. Shem Tov and 15 other settlers stormed other homes, smashing cars, and assaulting other residents. The accompanying soldiers arrested Hamdan and 2 other Palestinians, despite their urgent need for medical attention, and kept them in a military base overnight. Their whereabouts were unknown for several hours and they were not permitted to talk to their lawyer or seek legal counsel until the next morning. Eventually they were released and the charges against them were dropped for lack of any evidence against them. And meanwhile, Shem Tov and the other settlers who engaged in these brutal assaults, walk away with no repercussions or accountability.
 
 Despite mountains of detailed documentation against the violent act of these settlers, despite police and military presence during attacks, despite courts’ rulings about the rightful ownership of these lands by the Palestinians, despite military orders banning settlers from these areas, despite international media attention in the case of a Hollywood-recognized Palestinian man who was attacked, despite widespread condemnation against the illegal settlements and the violence in the occupation’s concerted efforts aimed at their expansion: despite it all, the violence of the Zionist occupation continues, and escalates, aiming to displace and destroy Palestinian life. And Palestinians remain steadfast, staying on these lands they have stewarded for generations, continuing to tend to the groves of olive, pomegranate and almond trees, to their flocks of sheep and goats and their young, the bushes of za’atar growing across the hills, their caves and cisterns large and small: all these are subject to the genocidal violence and destruction by the occupation, and are, therefore, bound to Palestinian resistance against the occupation through stewardship of these lands and ecologies.

We thank the activists in Masafer Yatta for putting together some of the background included in this piece.

Two Palestinian shepherds hospitalized following brutal attack by Israeli settlers in Khirbet Hammamat al-Maleh al-Meetah

On March 11, 2025, at least six Israeli settlers violently attacked two Palestinian shepherds in Khirbet Hammamat al-Maleh al-Meetah in the northern Jordan Valley. 

The brothers, Ghanem Eid Zawahra and Muhammad Eid Zawahra, were shepherding on Palestinian land when a black settler vehicle approached them. Settlers exited the vehicle and beat the shepherds with iron rods. 

Two Israeli army vehicles arrived on the scene following the attack, not to provide aid, but to block Palestinian ambulances from reaching the wounded shepherds. Eventually, the ambulances were able to collect them. 

The Zawahra brothers were taken to a hospital in Tubas, where they were treated for severe injuries. Both men had lacerations and bruises all over their bodies, especially on their heads. One brother’s hand was broken.

Pattern of Escalating Settler Harassment, Intimidation, and Physical Attacks

Israeli settler violence against Palestinian communities continues to escalate in the West Bank. Under the auspices of the occupation forces, settlers commit crimes against Palestinians every day: they steal and kill livestock, prevent grazing, confiscate lands, and physically attack Palestinian families. Often, settlers commit these crimes while dressed convincingly in military attire; other times, they are escorted and guarded by active military personnel.

All of this is done with the intention of terrorizing Palestinian communities until they feel they can no longer live on their own land. Once Palestinian families are uprooted, Israeli settlers quickly sweep in to seize their lands. 

Strategic Advantages of The Jordan Valley 

It is not a coincidence that Israeli settlers are rarely held accountable for their crimes against Palestinians. Rather, their continued intimidation of Palestinian communities and theft of Palestinian land are a direct enactment of the Israeli government’s stated intention to annex the West Bank. This apartheid system has an ultimate goal of displacement.

The Jordan Valley, which comprises the easternmost 30% of the West Bank, is of special strategic value to Israel. Due to the water supply of the Jordan River, the Valley is extremely fertile land that provides a rich environment for farming and shepherding. In turn, this means economic opportunities for those able to cultivate the land. Israel was making plans to annex the Jordan Valley as far back as 2019, despite the damage such an annexation would inflict upon the land and people. Settler attacks like this one intend to pressure Palestinian residents to leave their homes in the Jordan to make room for Israel’s colonial mission.


Further reading:

  1. https://apnews.com/article/west-bank-benjamin-netanyahu-israel-government-e36ed7260e0398406d9a8ba319b0b741
  2. https://jcpa.org/requirements-for-defensible-borders/defensible_borders_to_ensure_israels_future/
  3. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-49657915
  4. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/260518373_Access_Through_Power_Assessing_Mechanisms_of_Access_for_Settler-Farmer_Agriculture_in_the_Jordan_Valley

Israeli Army Demolishes Vital Supermarket on Highway 90, Jordan Valley

On the 2nd of March in the Jordan Valley, the Israeli military demolished a supermarket.
located on Highway 90. The owners of the supermarket were the Abo-Jarar family.
This area consisted of a playground, a small restaurant, bathroom, indoor sitting area and a prayer room.
In 2022, Israeli authorities gave a stop-work order for reasons which are still unknown.

The family hired a lawyer and got a notice to appeal this decision until 27 July 2025.
Nevertheless, the military came on the 2nd of March 2025 and destroyed the building and surroundings. The family had still 5 months left and were taken by surprise.


The day of demolition
On Sunday, March 2nd, the military came without warning and demolished the supermarket. The owners were only able to save less than 10% of the goods, not taking into account the furniture, equipment, and other things from the supermarket that were demolished as seen on the videos.


The supermarket relevance
The supermarket and other facilities were essential for the local community, providing goods and services without the need to travel to distant cities. They also served as a source of employment for many people from the area. The supermarket had around 15 employees, some of them employed for over 7 years. The restaurant helped provide income for around 30 families.


How the occupation prevents economic growth in the West Bank
The demolition of the Abo-Jarar family’s supermarket is an example of how the occupation impedes economic growth and stability in the West Bank. By enforcing stop-work orders and carrying out demolitions without adequate warning or justification, the occupation disrupts local businesses, displaces workers, and undermines the livelihoods of families dependent on these enterprises.


The occupation’s policies and practices, including restrictions on movement, access to resources, and land use, further exacerbate these challenges. By limiting the ability of Palestinians to build and sustain businesses, the occupation not only undermines economic growth but also deepens the socio-economic disparities between communities in the West Bank and neighbouring areas.

What’s Israel’s aim in the North Bank camps?

Northern West Bank | By Diana Khwaelid

The Israeli Operation

Palestinians fear the continuation of the Israeli operation in the northern West Bank; Israeli plans are underway.

More than a month since the Israeli military started its “Operation Iron Wall” in the northern West Bank including the Jenin, Tulkarem, Nur Shams Camps (21 January; two days after the Gaza “ceasefire” took effect), Israel has killed at least 60 Palestinians, arrested around 365 displaced over 40,000, and destroyed scores of homes and properties in the occupied West Bank.

Photo: Nur Shams Camp in the past week

On Sunday, Israel deployed tanks in the West Bank for the first time in more than 20 years. Now, Defense Minister Israel Katz has said, the army will remain in some refugee camps “for the next year” to ensure that residents cannot return.

Forced Displacement

Among Palestinians who were forcibly displaced from camps in the northern West Bank, under the threat of weapon fire, many came out and took nothing, and some of them made the wrenching decision to demolish their homes in the camps.

Photo: Displaced people take their belongings away before the demolition

The displaced Palestinians stated that they would return to the camp, and if their homes were lost or demolished, they would rebuild their homes, even if it was necessary to put up a tent and live in that. Palestinians in the camps are aware of Israel’s grand plans to eliminate refugee camps in the West Bank, specifically in the northern bank. Israel claims that these camps are primarily a factory of the Palestinian resistance, but in fact, Israel’s forces have killed dozens of civilians from camps in the northern West Bank. Unarmed Palestinian civilians who did nothing. Their only fault is that they grew up in the camp; they are Palestinians.

Psychological Violence and Show of Force

In a scene that has been absent for more than two decades since the end of the so-called second Palestinian intifada in 2005, Israeli tanks penetrated the city of Jenin in the north of the occupied West Bank in the neighborhood of “Jabriyat”, which overlooks the empty refugee camp after the Israeli army blew up residential blocks. Tens of thousands of Palestinians were forced to flee their homes in what is the largest displacement since the 1967 war.

Photo: Demolition of houses in Nur Shams Camp

Israel announced last Sunday that it had expelled tens of thousands of Palestinians from the Jenin, Tulkarem, and Nur Shams refugee camps, and Israeli Defense Minister Yisrael Katz said that he had instructed Israeli forces to prepare for a long stay of up to a year in the evacuated camps, adding that “there is no return for those who lived there”.

Photo: A sick and elderly woman who was displaced

Imposing the Status Quo Militarily, Not by Negotiation

The Palestinian Authority says that one of the most dangerous of the goals of the Israeli military operation is the displacement and ethnic cleansing of Palestinians, which occurs simultaneously with the bulldozing and construction of roads in large areas of the central bank; this process has already occurred with the Netzarim site, which had been established by various Palestinian geographic and military groups in the central Gaza Strip.

The question remains, whether Israel will succeed in implementing its military plans in the West Bank in general, and in the West Bank camps in particular.

Will the Palestinians survive despite all the challenges imposed by Israel?

Photo: A Palestinian man checks his house while standing amidst the rubble

For immediate release – US citizen faces deportation after being arrested in Masafer Yatta, setting of Oscar-winning documentary

March 8, 2025, Masafer Yatta – Alex Chabbott (44), a California based US citizen and solidarity activist, was arrested yesterday from Khalet Al-Daba’, in Masafer Yatta, the southern part of the occupied West Bank, and is now under imminent threat of deportation. Masafer Yatta is the setting of Oscar-winning documentary “No Other Land”, yet despite this global recognition, Israeli authorities continue their efforts to ethnically cleanse its indigenous population and expel whoever stands in solidarity with them.

Palestinian taken away from Israeli soldier on March 8, Khalet Al-Daba’. Credit local Palestinians. 

On the morning of March 8, Israeli settlers arrived with guns and started harassing residents of Khalet Al-Daba’, roaming through the village, invading houses and severely beating Palestinians with clubs. Israeli soldiers and police came to aid the settlers, continuing to abuse the Palestinians. After being attacked, three Palestinians and international activists present were arrested and taken to Kiryat Arba police station. 

Alex was questioned on trumped-up suspicions of obstructing a civil servant in a previous incident, which he denies, as well as entering a military firing zone the day of the arrest. Israeli authorities detained him as soon as he arrived in the village, only later explaining it is a closed area. While the others detained together with Alex were released, with one Palestinian requiring medical care at the hospital, the police decided to extend Alex’s arrest. However, due to the lack of any real evidence, Israeli authorities decided not to pursue criminal charges and used the perfectly legal small fruit knife he had in his backpack from earlier in the day as an excuse to single him out for deportation. This is not the first time Israeli authorities use baseless suspicions to arrest and deport solidarity activists.

Over the last few weeks, the village of Khalet Al-Daba’ has been terrorized by occupation forces that rolled in with a convoy of bulldozers and military vehicles, expelled families into the early morning cold and destroyed homes and infrastructure. On February 10, Israeli forces demolished 7 houses, 3 caves and a water cistern. Two weeks later, on February 26, bulldozers returned to Khalet Al-Daba’ to destroy six tents put up as temporary homes to replace the destroyed houses. Some of the families’ homes have been destroyed up to five times in recent years.

In the 1980s, Israeli authorities designated a part of Masafer Yatta as ‘Firing Zone 918’, a close military zone. Since this declaration, residents have been at continuous risk of forced eviction, house demolitions, and forcible transfer. Since October 7, Palestinians have faced escalating settler violence, aided and supported by the Israeli army and police, aiming at accelerating the ethnic cleansing of the area. In the last months, and years, villages have seen weekly demolitions and daily settlers attack towards residentsproperty and basic infrastructure.

Last July, around 200 settlers launched a coordinated attack in which they destroyed vehicles, burned fruit trees and beat up residents in Khalet Al-Daba’ and  Mufagarah. In the past year and half, at least 19 Palestinian communities in the occupied West Bank have been forcefully displaced and wiped off the map by Israeli settlers, with the support of the Israeli occupation forces.

Alex was witnessing yet another of these attacks on Khalet Al-Daba’ when Israeli forces arrested him and Palestinian residents. For over two decades, he has been a deeply entrenched activist and community organizer, dedicating himself in struggles to protect the environment and defend land against resource extraction, to show up for indigenous solidarity efforts, to support mutual aid efforts and community resilience, disaster relief, the anti war movement, fights for racial justice, and many more. He has been an active advocate and supporter of Palestine since the early 2000’s when he first learned what was going on. He has worked in land defense and stewardship, and grows a vast garden of food, flowers, and medicinal herbs mostly to give away and share with others. He especially loves to tend to his fruit trees.

“Growing up I learned about the Jewish Holocaust and it was mind boggling that honest people stood by as it happened. Today, Israel is perpetuating a genocide in Gaza, and I don’t want to look back and regret not standing up for what’s right. No one is free when others are oppressed,” Alex wrote.

This all happens under the watch of western countries, as the International Court of Justice (ICJ) has ruled that Israel’s occupation of the Palestinian territories is illegal and must be dismantled, and the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued arrest warrants for the current Israeli prime minister and the previous Israeli defence minister for war crimes. It is to be expected that in the context of the criminal enterprise of the colonisation of Palestine, indigenous Palestinians on their land and human rights defenders who support them, are criminalised. 

Palestinians everywhere are facing a genocide and while those in Gaza have endured constant bombardment, West Bank camps are being destroyed in the biggest escalation since the second intifada and communities are facing relentless raids. In this climate, notorious Israeli Minister Itamar Ben Gvir created a special task force to get rid of activists in the West Bank.  According to Ben Gvir, the task force was created as a response to some states, including the U.S., sanctioning violent settlers, because international activists were reporting settler violence that they witnessed to their governments. This effort aims to isolate Palestinians from international solidarity, and is part of the ongoing barrage of harassment by Israeli settlers and soldiers towards Palestinians and of human rights activists in the area.

Contact info: palreports@gmail.com

Khalet Al-Daba’ before the homes where demolished. Credit ISM
February 10, home demolition in Khalet Al-Daba’. Credit to local Palestinians.

The rubble left after the home demolitions. Credit to @palestinebrigade on IG.